Q&A: Makpar’s Generative Culture with Nickolas Sibley, the Agile Coach & Trainer at Makpar

As highlighted in this recent Forbes article, a Generative Culture is “the elusive noble quest of any tech-driven organization.” Generative Cultures essentially focus on communications, which leads to more original ideas being shared with the team and thus those ideas can become a reality.

From an innovation development perspective, Google takes this concept even further by stating that it is an “organizational culture that is high-trust and emphasizes information flow that is predictive of software delivery performance and organizational performance in technology.”

Generative Cultures are also counter to the Pathological Cultures, which offer a top-down power structure, and Bureaucratic Cultures. Generative Cultures are inclusive and all employees always feel safe in sharing their ideas.

As a smaller and nimble company, Makpar always strives to provide a Generative Culture, which helps the company to develop the most cutting-edge innovations for government.

We recently had the opportunity to speak with Nickolas Sibley, the Agile Coach & Trainer at Makpar, about the company’s Generative Culture.

The following conversation has been edited for length.

Q: Can you give examples of generative cultures at Makpar?

Before I talk about the Generative Culture at Makpar, I actually turned down a very lucrative offer to do Agile development for a large Fortune 100 company, which had a Pathological Culture. I simply cannot work in this kind of environment. It’s not about the money… it’s about working for a company that truly cares and fosters true collaboration.

With this in mind, Makpar is the only Generative Culture that I have come across in my career. The company is multi-everything where true diversity and collaboration are always celebrated. And, management recognizes all of our efforts. Makpar also offers a culture of unlimited growth potential through its educational and training programs.

Our Generative Culture also enables us to win bids because we collaborate with BD teams, the Makpar Innovation Lab and our partners – who also feel as if they are part of the company. This creates a high energy and high performing team for winning new business. We also use many communications and feedback channels and there’s no fear of hierarchy. In fact, the best solution trumps hierarchy.

Finally, we have our “Monthly Makpar Knowledge Share” meetings, quarterly management meetings, one-on-one meetings with employees, as well as weekly leadership team meetings. Makpar has also embraced the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), which helps everyone work towards the same goals.

Q: How does Makpar’s Generative Culture impact service delivery?

It allows us to move faster for our government customers. I am training our teams on government projects to be more generative in their delivery to customers. Essentially, we are always going to meet service delivery needs, even if the government customer moves slower.

The Makpar Innovation Lab also plays a key part in quickly meeting government needs. Our Generative Culture allowed us to win a highly competitive code challenge by having clearly defined roles for everyone, effective communications and the ability to keep calm under pressure. 

We are very focused on outcomes across the board. This is expanding to the SAFE trainings that I am providing to the company. And, I am even training the Makpar HR department on how to be more generative.

Q: How will Makpar strive to maintain a Generative Culture as it grows?

This is a challenge for any smaller organization as it achieves rapid growth. Thankfully, there is full buy-in from Makpar leadership to keep its special culture in place. We will also focus on hiring generative employees who will achieve long-term success in this environment.

Q: Any final thoughts?

Without a doubt, Makpar is the best company I have ever worked for, and I hope this is the last job I ever have.

We would like to thank Nickolas for taking the time to speak with us!

Want to join the #MakparProud team? Learn more about career opportunities and job openings at Makpar here.